Page 9 of One Last Run

Izzy had her earbuds in listening to music — she’d been blasting The Shrikes’ new album most of the afternoon, ignoringPete in favor of soaking up the music. Pete preferred the silence, catching bits of people’s conversations and laughter, taking in the rhythmic clanking of the lifts, focusing on the swish of snow under the edge of her board as she carved slow and wide down Misty Maiden.

Her breath fogged in front of her and she flexed her hands in her gloves, winding between the assholes who congregated directly at the end of a run, like people weren’t barreling toward them.

“You sure you don’t want to hop on 4?” Izzy asked, gesturing to the lift station. In this particular area, several lifts joined together.

“No, but feel free to go it alone,” Pete said, bending to undo her bindings.

“Suit yourself.” Izzy paused beside her, then unclipped one binding and scooted off in the direction of Lift 4.

Pete cursed her rental bindings. She preferred the ease of step on bindings, but she hadn’t had the luxury of getting those at the ski rental shop.

It would have been smart to bring her own gear, but the hassle of bringing all of that baggage on the plane from Seattle would have been too much. She preferred to travel with only her backpack and exactly what she needed, nothing frivolous or annoying. She’d sooner cut off an arm than check a bag, even when living abroad. Especially when living abroad. Watching tourists drag gigantic wheeled luggage over ancient cobblestones made something inside of her die of second-hand embarrassment.

She tucked her board under her arm and walked toward the condo’s rear entrance, sniffling in the chilly afternoon air.

“Oh, give me a fucking break,” someone said above her and she froze, glancing around. The voice made something inside ofPete’s brain snap to attention — she’d know that voice anywhere. What had she done to piss off Danica so badly?

On the balcony above her, Danica leaned her back against the railing, her chestnut hair peeking out from under a beanie.

Pete paused just below the balcony, out of sight but well within listening distance. It was just simple curiosity, right? No one could fault her for happening upon Danica’s conversation. She tried to keep her breathing quiet, which was quite a feat with the lack of oxygen in Colorado. Seriously, how did anyone exercise for a full day at 10,000 feet? It took superhuman strength.

“Why are you calling me?” Danica chided from the balcony above her. “I don’t want to talk about this again.”

Pete stared up at the balcony in silent intrigue, every fiber of her body buzzing with curiosity.

“We’ve talked about this.” She stopped abruptly, and Pete ducked, in case she had been caught. A long sigh told Pete that the person had interrupted Danica. “Eddie, seriously, this isn’t a good time.”

Ah, so Danica was talking to her fiancé. Pete knew that Danica was engaged — Izzy had told her when she’d visited Croatia last summer. Izzy hadn’t liked the guy when she’d met him at Maggie’s wedding, but she rarely liked anyone, so that wasn’t exactly a damning endorsement. Danica knew what she wanted – she always had – and Pete trusted that she had chosen someone good for her.

Judging from Danica’s irritation, this Eddie guy sounded needy as hell. Pete cringed, picturing some scrawny dude with tears in his eyes. Who would ever talk to Danica that way? Danica busted her ass to take care of everyone around her. She always had. It was something that had always made Pete feel proud to be her friend.

Well, and more than friends. Whatever they had been. Friends who slept together sometimes. Friends who texted the other at 1 a.m. to come over to each other’s place “just to cuddle and sleep.”

Everyone always needed Danica, and so Pete was resolved to never add to that burden. And if that meant staying at arm’s length so that Danica never had to worry about taking care of her, then that was the way it had to be.

But that was then. To be honest with herself, a little part of her did feel sad when she found out that Danica was engaged. Sure, they’d never been officially in a relationship, but before their last fight, even after their last fight, she’d always hoped... Well, she’d always held onto the belief that they’d be right for each other someday.

She’d worked hard to make something of herself after college. She’d sold the app she’d made for her senior thesis, a night sky flying simulator called Til Morning that had been the capstone of her Computer Science degree. Til Morning had been dissected into two other apps by a larger company, and she’d used the money from the sale to invest and travel and experience the world.

Had she ever truly grown up like Danica had spitefully suggested during their last fight? Not in a million years. Change, mature, grow into the kind of person who might deserve a woman like Danica? Well, she’d tried.

Maybe it had been too little, too late. Danica was marrying someone who whined on the phone while she was on a trip with friends. Add that to the red flag category, right under Dentist. Adentist. Talk about a career only a psycho would choose. No one — patients or practitioners — trulyenjoyeddentistry, surely.

“We’reover,” Danica said, and Pete’s heart nearly leapt out of her chest. Had she just witnessed Danica breaking up with her fiancéover the phone?

Danica was still on the balcony above her, silent and seemingly standing still. Fear of discovery as an under-porch stalker prevented Pete from risking a glance. Nothing said, “I’m definitely worth your time now” quite like crouching under a balcony, breathing heavily while spying.

Danica and Eddie were over… Her pulse jumped and a little thrill shot through her. Of course, Danica being single did not necessarily give her a chance… but it did notnotgive her a chance.

She adjusted the board in her arms as silently as she could, her hands growing cold inside her gloves from standing still for the past few minutes. The warmth of exercise had worn off, gone was the adrenaline from hurtling down a mountain, and now she was regretting her decision to linger outside. Thankfully, the balcony creaked above her, and she heard the patio door open and shut. After counting to fifteen Mississippi just to make sure, she snuck in the back door as silently as she could, taking off her boots and jacket in the mudroom.

Pete and Maggie were both startled when Maggie appeared in the mudroom a moment later. “Sorry, I was just grabbing something from my coat,” she said a little too casually, reaching past Pete to slip a vape from one of the open pockets. “Want some?” She held out the vape, and Pete could just barely smell the hint of weed.

“Nah, I think that might kill me at this elevation,” Pete joked, placing her boots under the bench where they could dry overnight.

“You know, it might be the only thing keeping me alive at this point. There’s no oxygen here anyway, so might as well replace it with something else,” A grin on her face, Maggie cracked open the back door, vaped, and let the smoke drift away.

The back door opened again only a moment later and Izzy stomped in, her eyebrows raising in surprise to see them bothstanding there. Maggie handed her the vape before she even had her board stowed against the wall. Izzy laughed, taking a long pull, then opened the door again to exhale outside.

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